Forging a New World
by Cody Sherer
Summary: The Gunslinger, the Overseer, the Scientist, the Brute, and the Foreigner each embark on their own quest to forge the new world in a fashion that is to their liking. Will their visions for the world collide or coincide? Who will live and who will die? Find out!


The from the village carried through the canyon as the Gunslinger slowly made his way toward what was once the sleepy town of Cotter's Hollow. He quickened his pace, driven by the anguish of yet another tortured town. The tops of roofs came into view as he exited the canyon. Two townsmen raised their rifles as the Gunslinger came into view. He pulled back the sides of his coat to reveal his revolvers and then he raised his arms in the air. The mayor of the town stood in-between the two riflemen. He studied the slinger, though not in the way the Gunslinger studied him.

"What are you here for?" The mayor asked.

When the slinger failed to reply, the mayor instead said, "If you don't plan on helping, you can go back the way you came."

The Gunslinger spit on the ground and shook his head. After a few more questions, the mayor realized he would get no reply out of the stranger. He started in on his story of how the raiders had hit the town. His explanation started with the telling that the bandits had arrived an hour before the Gunslinger and had killed several adults before kidnapping a number of children. Before the mayor could finish telling the Gunslinger where the raiders had gone, the slinger tipped his hat and headed for the bandit's camp. When the riflemen tried to follow, he held up his hands and shook his head.

It didn't take long for the slinger to find out why the raiders were so bold. In-between their camp and the town was a large minefield that had, more than likely, been set up by the bandits. One of the raiders sneered at him from across the way, prompting the slinger to pull the rifle off his back and shoot the bandit. He lowered the rifle and surveyed his options. A craggy hill lay on one side of the minefield and an irradiated lakebed on the other. He checked his supply of Rad-x and then headed for the dried out lake. As he got closer to the radiation zone, he took some Rad-x and readied a stealth boy.

He made his way across the irradiated land and hid behind a rock near the edge of the raider's camp. Acting carefully, he peeked out from around the rock and used his binoculars to scout the camp. Two of the bandits were perched in a lookout tower near the edge of camp, but the rest were interspersed throughout the camp. The Gunslinger activated his stealth boy and crept out from behind the rock. He made his way up the tower and knifed the two guards. Before any of the other raiders knew what was happening, the slinger had pulled out his rifle and was opening fire on them. He took out ten of the twenty-two bandits before running out of ammo.

The bandits retreated back into their tents and headquarters, forcing the Gunslinger to give up his height advantage. He replaced his rifle with his two revolvers and headed down into the main portion of the camp. There were two raiders inside the closest tent, neither of them got a shot off before the slinger gunned them down. He dove to the ground as one of the bandits opened fire on the tent with a shoulder mounted machine gun. When the firing stopped, the Gunslinger crawled out of the remains of the tent and shot the raider in the forehead. Movement near one of the other tents drew his attention. Three bandits were attempting to flee, but the slinger put each down with a single shot.

After checking the other two tents, the Gunslinger turned his focus onto the building in the center of the camp. He kicked in the door and killed two more raiders. Another bandit came down the stairs and was met with a bullet between the eyes. The slinger made his way to the top floor and killed another raider. After a thorough search of the building, he put away his revolvers and unlocked the cells to the kidnapped children. They made their way outside and found the leader of the raiders waiting for them in the middle of the camp. He pushed his coat back to reveal a revolver similar to the kind that the slinger carried. The slinger nodded and took up a spot several yards away.

They stood staring at one another. The bandit leader was shaking and sweating heavily. His hand slowly slid down toward his gun. The Gunslinger reacted quicker. His hand slid down and pulled the revolver free. He took a second to solidify his aim before pulling the trigger. The revolver was holstered before the bandit leader hit the floor. Only the minefield stood between the children and their freedom. The slinger, no longer needing to be stealthy, used his grenades to clear a path back to Cotter's Hollow.

"You've done more than we could have hoped. How can we repay you?" The mayor asked as he ran out to meet them.

The Gunslinger merely tipped his hat and turned toward the wasteland.


End file.
